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Where was THAT all season?!?

First I’m going to one more plea to Pat Bowlen: please dispense with the blue jerseys once and for all. The Broncos belong in orange. The biggest mistake the Broncos owner has made has nothing to do with coaching changes or player personnel. It was switching to those blue jerseys in the late 90s. Orange is the true Broncos color. The fans want it. It is time to make the switch back and correct the error.

Secondly, I was going to spend a significant amount of time bashing Chiefs coach Todd Haley for his refusal to shake the hand of Josh McDaniels after the game. Since Haley has now apologized, I’m not going to waste a significant amount of time on that issue. I do think it goes without saying that Haley was 100 percent wrong, regardless of anything he thought the Broncos might have done late in the game. Besides after seeing the lead CU blew against Kansas, I’m willing to say that no lead is ever really truly safe anymore.

Now, as far as the state of the Broncos, it is amazing to think that they are just two games out of first place in the AFC West despite their 3-6 record. Well, maybe amazing isn’t the right word. What’s a one word description for “most mediocre division in NFL history”. Considering the Broncos have four games remaining against division opponents, the optimistic side of me is not ready to write them off just yet. What we saw Sunday from the Broncos was exactly what we needed to see: a running game that actually gained more than one yard per carry. The running game was so effective that Knowshon Moreno had a career high rushing day. It’s no coincidence that this is the first game that featured a healthy offensive line. The return of Ryan Harris at right tackle was especially critical. If the Broncos can continue to run with that kind of effectiveness, it is easy to get really excited about the prospects of the offense as a whole. The way Kyle Orton is throwing and the way Tim Tebow has proved effective around the goal line are all positives, but the running game remains the biggest key.

Defensively, the numbers are a little misleading. Matt Cassel did have a career high passing day yes, but most of that came during garbage time when the Chiefs were throwing the football on every play. The important numbers for the Broncos lie in their rushing defense, where Denver held the Chiefs to just 51 yards rushing on 22 carries. Kansas City came into the game ranked number one in the NFL in rushing, while Denver’s defense ranked 31st. The Broncos stepped up and held Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones to a combined 2.2 yards per carry. Mario Haggan also registered three sacks, including one that resulted in a fumble return touchdown by Jason Hunter to give the Broncos an insurmountable 35-0 lead in the second quarter.

The bottom line for the Broncos is that the bye week really did them a lot of good. They were somehow able to shore up their two biggest areas of weakness, running the football and stopping the run. Granted, it’s only one game, and we may see the ugliness rear its head again next Monday night in San Diego, but at the very least it allows the Broncos to begin the second half of the season on the right foot. Is this a Super Bowl contender? Certainly not. Are they a playoff team? Highly doubtful. Only one 2-6 team has rebounded to make the playoffs in NFL history, and that was back in 1970. What I’m hoping is that the Broncos can continue to show improvement each week. This win against a very good Kansas City team showed what the Broncos can be capable of. Now, let’s see if they are able to keep it up.